Robb Walsh's Buttermilk Dressing

The following recipe is from the May 16 edition of our weekly recipe newsletter. To receive this newsletter in your inbox, sign up here!

In Texas, the ubiquitous chicken fried steak is often plated with fries and a buttermilk ranch dressed salad on the same plate, making the ranch the dip of choice for the fries. Robb Walsh, author of Texas Eats, speculates that the popularity of ranch as a dip comes from Texas's cowboy culture, where those gruff dudes used the creamy-tangy dressing to compliment everything from fries to onion rings and even chicken fried steak. And now we know that we have Texas to thank for those little tubs of ranch meant for pizza crust dippage.

What Worked: This 1937 recipe for Buttermilk Dressing is the proto ranch. It's cool, creamy, and the ideal dipper and dunker for everything from salads to pizza crusts, wings and fries.

What Didn't: If you're used to a tangier ranch, consider upping the lemon and mustard.

Suggested Tweaks: A handful of snipped chives and parsley would not only add color but also a complementary herbiness.

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